1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display (PDP) and, more particularly, to a PDP substrate structure of the PDP and its manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display panel (PDP) is a display device for realizing an image by gas discharge. That is, the gas discharge generates plasma, the plasma radiates vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) rays, the VUV rays excite phosphors, and the excited phosphors are stabilized to generate red (R), green (G), and blue (B) visible light.
For example, in one type of PDP, address electrodes are formed on a first (or rear) substrate, and a dielectric layer is formed on the first substrate to cover the address electrodes. Barrier ribs are formed in a stripe pattern on the dielectric layer between the respective address electrodes. Red (R), green (G), and blue (B) phosphor layers are formed on inner surfaces of the barrier ribs and on a surface of the dielectric layer.
Display electrodes (e.g., a sustain electrode and a scan electrode formed in pairs) are formed on a second (or front) substrate extending in a direction crossing the address electrodes.
Discharge cells are partitioned by the barrier ribs, and are formed at crossing regions of the address electrodes and the display electrodes. Accordingly, millions (or more) of the discharge cells can be arranged in a matrix format in the PDP.
In one embodiment, the second (or front) substrate is formed on a light transparent material, such as glass, and the display electrodes are made of a transparent conductive material so that they do not interfere with the light reaching the second substrate.
Most transparent conductive materials utilized in the formation of the display (or transparent) electrodes have high electrical resistance as compared to opaque metallic materials. The high resistant electrodes may cause the PDP to run at a slower rate, with higher voltage drop and/or with more power consumption. One approach for enhancing the conductivity of transparent electrodes is to use bus (or metal conductive) electrodes, which are placed in contact with the transparent electrodes. Accordingly, there is a continued need to improve the conductivity of the metal conductive electrodes, (e.g. lower the resistance, particularly, specific resistance of a PDP electrode after sintering) and the overall conductivity of the electrodes.